Leclerc lays bare the ‘biggest difference’ still separating Ferrari and Mercedes

The Monegasque heads into the weekend off the back of a fourth-place finish in China, having lost out in a battle with his team-mate, with Ferrari emerging as the closest challenger to the W17 despite still carrying a significant gap.

Despite that, Leclerc remains convinced the fight is still on: "We are still very early in the season so I do think it is possible, but is it a huge challenge."

Asked whether Ferrari have a chance to fight this weekend, the Monegasque replied: "I think after the first practice we will know where we stand compared to Mercedes. Let's wait and see, they will be strong on the straight but it is a twisty track in the first two sectors"

The FIA has acted on concerns raised by drivers by introducing a minor adjustment to energy management parameters for qualifying at the Japanese Grand Prix, following discussions with teams and power unit manufacturers. The change has been agreed with the full support of all engine suppliers.

To preserve the intended balance between energy deployment and outright performance, the maximum permitted energy recharge for qualifying this weekend has been reduced from 9.0 MJ to 8.0 MJ.

The tweak comes in response to feedback from both drivers and teams, who stressed the importance of keeping qualifying as a session focused on pure performance rather than energy management.